This article was written in the seventh year of Russia's war against Ukraine and before the February 2022 full-scale invasion would expand the scale of the war beyond recognition. The empirical figures Hrytsenko cites — some 55,000 women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, mostly in non-combat positions — have since risen sharply. Over 70,000 women serve, around 5,500 of them on the front line; women now comprise about 8% of the armed forces overall. They serve as drone operators, tank (…)

On 26 June 2026, an Ashura procession in Copenhagen's Nørrebro district drew eighteen thousand participants — and a public controversy over the organisers' imposition of gender segregation. Rezgar Akrawi uses the episode as a starting point for a wide-ranging analysis of Islamic religious institutions in Europe. He identifies three interlocking problems: the structural dependence of a significant number of mosques on funding from authoritarian states (Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia); the (…)

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, 34, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who took office on January 1, 2026, has already advanced his agenda and become a political king-maker. Mamdani ran promising universal childcare, lowering rents, and making buses free. He hasn't achieved all, but he is well on his way. At the same time, he was able to dominate the recent elections in New York City.
Mamdani succeeded in forming a partnership with New York Governor Kathy Hochul to provide $73 (…)

President Donald Trump in two different speeches celebrating Independence Day called upon Americans to celebrate July 4 by revering the nation's history and rallying against “godless” communism. His speech was a clear response to the recent election to Congress of three members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who ran as Democrats. He has made clear that he will characterize both the DSA members, other progressives, and the Democratic Party as “evil” communists, as he strives to (…)

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya's lawyer said he struggled to breathe and speak and seemed close to losing consciousness several times, during a Thursday visit, and said the doctor told him he fears he would be killed in Israeli custody
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, handcuffed during a video-link Supreme Court hearing, earlier this month. Credit: Reuters TV via Reuters
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of a major Gaza hospital who has been imprisoned by Israel since 2024, is in immediate (…)